Rich Comes To Hastings

A YouTube friend of mine, Rich, is over in the UK from Los Angeles at the moment. He took time out and came down to Hastings for a visit.


We didn't even get around to mentioning the book that Rich has just released "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain"
Find it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Life-Bottom-Food-Chain/dp/0989188019/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373481011&sr=1-1

You can find Rich here:
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/worldaccordingtorich
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rickflix

Travelling Men.

My son has just come back from a holiday in Hawaii. So, i thought i'd talk about travel.

One of the ironies of this is that, when i worked full time i could afford to travel, but didn't have the time. Now, i have the time, but not the money to do so.

AudioBoo - Where Will It Take You?

listen to ‘Where Will It Take You?’ on Audioboo

The power of Social Media & how things come together in a digital age.

Twitter: @twitchhiker @paul_a_smith and @bwitterhiker

666 - The video of the beast.

My 666th YouTube video.

When your wife's in Rome, record a video.

Talking about travel, trust & personal space.

Playlist of my California Road Trip videos:
http://sites.google.com/site/vloggerhood/ca-road-trip-2010/andys-road

A beach vlog.

http://socialmediajourneys.blogspot.com/

AudioBoo - Trains and planes. But, no boats.

Another beach Boo. It's amazing how walking there inspires me.

Have bed, will travel.

We all have trouble deciding on what to pack and knowing what to take on holiday with us, don't we?
There just never seems to be enough room in your case does there? And, in these days of increased airline restrictions on what you have to pack, the reducing of the maximum weight allowed for your case and the hefty penalties if you do manage to squeeze too much in. This has all become even more of a problem and, if i'm honest, more stressful than many other parts of the modern travelling experience.

I'm not even going to mention the problems we also now have with all the extra leads and adapters, for all those new fangled gadgets we all seem to have to carry around with us nowadays. That's a topic for another day maybe?

But, there is one item that i'm sure we'd all love to be able to pack. But, for obvious reasons, we can't.
Our bed (and maybe a sneaky pillow too?)

There is something about your own bed, that just doesn't ever seem to be replicated by any other bed you sleep in. No matter where that might be.
You may be in the swishest hotel in the world. But, there's a good chance that the bed will not be to your liking. Either that, or the bed is acceptable, but the pillows just don't fit your head properly. No matter how much thumping and plumping you do.
So, you wake up with a stiff neck, a stiff back. Or, you end up sleeping on the floor.

So many of us now seem to take more care with our backs and consequently, have invested in often quite expensive mattresses, fluffy pillows, or sturdy bedframes. The mattress that we have at home, uses technology and materials developed for space craft. So, at least i know that i ever get to spend some time on the International Space Station, i should be sure of a good nights sleep.

Unfortunately, this type of technology doesn't usually extend to the beds in hotels, guest houses and holiday properties. I have slept in beds on several different continents and the problem appears to be the same everywhere.

So, what do we do?
Well, i suppose the obvious solution is to stay at home and sleep easy in your own bed, with your own pillows. With that option you can at least also cuddle your own teddy bear as well, if you are so inclined. Although, i can think of better options!

But, personally i enjoy my travelling too much. So, i guess i'll just have to put up with having the odd back and neck ache?
Maybe next time, i should just make a Doctors appointment, ready for when i come home?
Now, where did i put his number?....

Andy & Steve Go To Bath.

I travelled down to Bath to spend the day with Steve: http://www.youtube.com/21stCenturyCat

This is a record of that day. The sights, the lions & the pubs.

Thanks to Steve for being an interesting tour guide.
Thanks also to Keiran, the barman in The Salamander pub, for his camera work at the end of the video.

For more info on the lions we mentioned & saw in the video, go to: http://www.lionsofbath.com/home

The Salamander pub: http://www.bathales.com/pubs/salamand...

It's Lake Fish Sir.

Whilst watching a video this morning by one of my favourite YouTubers, Margaret Fabrizio, who goes by the name "atree3", i was reminded of a story.

Margaret's video was one of a series she has posted about her recent trip to Vietnam.
This is the video:


Apart from the story, which will probably not make a lot of sense unless you've watched that video, especially the ending. This series of videos has also brought back many happy memories to me of past holidays, especially those holidays to more distant lands.

My story took place in Sri Lanka, which i was lucky enough to visit with some friends, way back in 1982. Just before the ethnic violence between the Sinhalese & Tamils started.

We were in a place called Pollunaruwa, an ancient city of temples & statues of the Buddha. My friend Keith & i were sitting in a restuarant by a big lake. Whilst perusing the menu, we noticed that they had fish on there.
So, we asked the waiter what kind of fish it was:
"It's lake fish sir",
"Yes, we know it comes from the lake, but what kind of fish is it?",
"It's lake fish sir"
"Yes, we understand that, but what is the actual fish called?",
"It's lake fish sir"
It was at this point that we admitted defeat!

Now, this might not seem like a particularly amusing story & it may indeed be one of those cases where you just had to be there? But, it brought all of those memories flooding back to me.

I have been lucky enough to travel to some wonderful countries. Countries such as Sri Lanka, India & Egypt. And in each of them i have travelled in an unscheduled manner, basically backpacking i suppose.
But, the common thing that keeps those memories fresh in my mind, is the fact that for each of those holidays, i kept a travel diary. All of which i still have.
In fact, after watching Margaret's video this morning & thinking of that lake fish story, i have gone back & re-read my diary about that Sri Lankan trip.

Although, i took many, many photo's during those trips. There is nothing quite the same as reading a travel diary that was actually written at the time. Especially when viewed with those photographs. It really brings them back to life.
Try as we might, we can never remember everything that happens, or that we experience. But, every time i re-read those diaries, i am transported right back to the day that i wrote them.
The sights, sounds & smells seem to jump right out of the pages. In fact some of the pages still have the original stains on them!

I'm not sure that that would ever happen again in quite the same way?
These days, we all go on our holidays armed to the teeth with technology. Whether that be a mobile/cell phone, digital camera, laptop, or video camera. There is no excuse, or any need to miss a thing.

Indeed, that is exactly what Margaret's videos have proven. She now has her exchange with that Vietnamese man all about tea, in digital form. She even has the ability to upload it to the Internet & let the rest of us experience that memory with her.
I have done the same thing myself, on more recent holidays to Spain & the USA.

In the past, our memories have only really lived on in our brains, on celluloid film, or on fragile paper. Now, those memories can be recorded digitally, edited & stored on the Internet for all to see, for eternity.

Just like an elephant, we will never forget (even if we want to)

Holiday Stories

Some holiday stories told to me recently which show the complete lack of appreciation that some people have for their surroundings.